D.C. mayor noncommittal on proposal to call up National Guard to curb crime

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser says she understands why some city leaders are sounding the alarm on crime, but she is noncommittal about a proposal to call up the National Guard.

The mayor, back Monday from a weeklong vacation, said she plans to confer with D.C. Council member Trayon White, who last week said the visible presence of armed National Guard members on the streets is needed in a city that has become a “war zone” of holdups, carjackings and shootings.

Speaking to reporters at a back-to-school event, the mayor offered no comment on whether she would take up Mr. White’s proposal with federal partners, but she indicated a willingness to discuss the idea with him.

“I, of course, share his concern about safety in neighborhoods in Ward 8 and throughout the District and how we best deploy our resources to keep the community safe,” Ms. Bowser said.

Deploying the D.C. National Guard would require the cooperation of the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice and the White House. The president ultimately determines whether the military units are activated.

Mr. White called for the National Guard at an impassioned press conference near the scene of an Aug. 5 shooting in Southeast that left three dead.

The mayhem near the corner of 16th Street and Good Hope Road was the latest spasm of violence in a city with a surge in crime across several categories this year.

The Metropolitan Police Department reported 164 homicides in the nation’s capital through Tuesday, a 25% increase from this point last year.

Violent crime is up 37% year over year. Every serious offense — including carjacking, robbery, sexual assault and weapons assault — has increased.

The city is on track for a third straight year of at least 200 homicides. It hasn’t reached that milestone in two decades.

Mr. White said his ideal deployment would include an armed, uniformed military presence on the streets.

He said it should be similar to what he saw growing up on the streets of Southeast in the 1980s and 1990s.

“[Acting] Police Chief [Pamela] Smith stated that we are not in a war zone,” Mr. White said at his Aug. 8 press conference. “I know those who live here, know that we are clearly in a war zone.

“We know that officers who have a handgun can’t combat three people with AR-15s and AK-47s shooting down the street because [police] simply have to get home to their families as well,” Mr. White said.

The councilmember made clear Tuesday that he does not see the National Guard as a long-term solution to the District’s crime problems, telling The Washington Times, through a spokesperson, that his proposal also calls for a combination of jobs programs and housing as well as more active parenting and stronger community ties.

The lengthy National Guard deployment roughly three decades ago provided more technical assistance than direct help in fighting crime.

Roughly two dozen guard members were actived in 1990 to help repair police cruisers and set up roadblocks and streetlights for the Metro Orange Coalition, whose safety patrols wore orange hats while walking crime-ridden neighborhoods.

News reports said the soldiers were involved in the city’s public safety apparatus as late as 1997. Although the soldiers were in uniform, none of the reports mentioned armed troops.

D.C. residents at the time wanted the National Guard to take a more aggressive role in fighting the crime crisis.

Residents called on D.C. Mayor Marion Barry to request the guard in 1988 during a surge of homicides, largely driven by the burgeoning crack cocaine trade. The homicide rate jumped from 245 in 1987 to 380 in 1988, but the mayor said, “The city is not out of control.”

After homicides peaked at 509 in 1991, D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly asked President Clinton in 1993 to allow her to call up a more robust National Guard deployment. Mr. Clinton rejected her request.

“We can’t do anything about it. We need military help,” Ms. Kelly said in an interview with local Fox affiliate WTTG, according to video archives retrieved by the station. “I’m the chief executive of the District of Columbia. I have a responsibility to provide for the public safety of our citizens and our use whatever means at my disposal, I’ll call upon whatever federal assistance is available.”

Ms. Bowser said Monday that she “wasn’t prepared to talk about 1993” or the conditions that motivated the former mayor to seek the National Guard deployment.

Mr. White’s colleagues on the D.C. Council voiced opposition to the Ward 8 Democrat’s calls for a military presence on the streets. They said the National Guard is a poor fit to address the District’s crime problems.

“The National Guard is not trained for ordinary law enforcement and police duties,” D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson told The Washington Times in a statement. “When the National Guard has been called out, it’s typically been for crowd control and mass demonstrations or things like the January 6th insurrection. Calling the National Guard suggests that the Army is better than police for fighting local crime. We should be focusing on giving MPD the resources they need.”

At-large council member Robert White, unrelated to Ward 8 council member Trayon White, agreed with the chairman. He acknowledged that the urge to request the guard reveals city residents’ frayed nerves from senseless, often random violence.

“The calls for the National Guard stem from a real feeling of terror among many residents,” Mr. White told The Times in a statement. “I believe we can achieve the presence and security residents are crying out for without bringing in militarized force.”

The council member said police should concentrate on “violent hot spots” in the short term.

A more lasting remedy to the bloodshed, he said, would come from the local government’s collaboration with businesses, families, faith leaders and police to “heal from generations of violence.”

Correction: Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry’s last name was misspelled in a previous version of this report.